POLICE are appealing for information following a suspicious blaze at a farm near Meigle in the early hours of Monday morning.

Tayside Fire and Rescue were called out to the fire at Drumkilbo Farm just after midnight. Appliances from Coupar Angus, Blairgowrie and Alyth attended the incident, which saw the A94, the main road between Coupar Angus and Forfar, closed for several hours.

The fire was located in a polytunnel that was being used to grow strawberries and also involved around 1000 bales of hay.

In a statement, Tayside Fire and Rescue said: “The fire was extinguished by two water jets. Considerable efforts were also made to prevent the fire spreading to a wooden pump house which was adjacent to the affected area.

“The fire was brought under control at approximately 02:30hrs. Crews remained at the scene throughout the night and following morning damping down the area to extinguish any remaining hot spots. They were assisted in this task by farm staff who were able to deploy a mechanical excavator.

“The fire is being treated as suspicious. The circumstances leading up to the incident are subject to a joint investigation currently being conducted by Tayside Police and Tayside Fire and Rescue.”

Local police officers condemned the irresponsible actions of those who started the fire. Speaking to the Blairie, they said: “The timing of the incident reduced the likelihood of serious injuries to anyone other than the perpetrators themselves but because the location is so close to a main road which sees a heavy volume of traffic, this made it especially dangerous. The smoke was billowing out over the road and it could have caused a serious road traffic incident - it is a fast stretch of road.

“It is still the early stages of our enquiry and we are still waiting to find out the total cost of the damage caused by the fire but it is fair to say that it is in the region of thousands of pounds worth.

“We would urge anyone who has seen anything or anyone suspicious in the area to call us, no matter how insignificant the information might seem.”

Anyone who may have information regarding the fire should contact Tayside Police on 0300 111 2222.